Contents:

Carolyn Yarnell: The Same SkyRandall Woolf: Adrenaline RevivalMarti Epstein: She Fell Into a Well of SorrowsElaine Kaplinsky: Umbra

About Infusion

With the four compositions pianist Kathleen Supové performs on Infusion, the walls between acoustic sound and electronics are completely porous. Sometimes she will play in duet with computer-generated piano sounds that will only sound electronic once you realize that no human being, not even a pianist as dexterous as Supové could ever tackle such speeds. Other times the notes she strikes will be altered in real time and made to sound completely un-piano-like. Of course, in order to pull off this kind of instant relay between acoustic and electronic sounds requires the careful hands and ears of a producer. In this function, Sheldon Steiger, who has worked with artists as diverse as Paul Simon, rap groups from Run-DMC to P.M. Dawn, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, the string quartet Ethel, the American Composers Orchestra, and the Lincoln Center Festival, proved the perfect collaborator.

“This is meant to be a real 21st Century Piano CD,” beams Supové. “The medium melds two great technologies: electronic sound and the acoustic grand piano. I chose these pieces because they were imaginative, non-doctrinaire, beautiful, intriguing—accessible to the listener, but never mindless. I wanted the person listening to be surrounded by mysterious beauty. I also wanted a seamless and continuous experience from beginning to end.”

From the CD liner notes written by Frank J. Oteri, New York-based composer and the Editor of the American Music Center’s Web magazine NewMusicBox.